In the 2024-2025 academic year, 73% of all applicants to technical and vocational education institutions were admitted to budget-funded programs. This is a record high in 14 years, reports DATA HUB.
"The corresponding share has been increasing for almost the entire specified period, adding 30 percentage points. Since the 2011-2012 academic year, the chances of being accepted into college on a tuition-free basis have increased by 1.7 times. Previously, two out of five applicants succeeded, but now it’s three out of four. The observed dynamics generally confirm the state's assertion about the expansion of access to free technical and vocational education in in-demand specialties," analysts indicate.
DATA HUB adds that there has been much discussion lately about the need to enhance the prestige of blue-collar professions, but "it cannot be said that the state pays them absolutely all its attention when allocating its order." In the 2024-2025 academic year, 43% of students admitted to budget-funded programs belonged to specialty groups that hardly relate to traditional blue-collar work. This includes the following fields: education (13%); information and communication technologies (12%); healthcare and social security (8%); business, management, and law (5%); arts and humanities (4%).
"However, no matter how hard the state tries to simplify access to free education in colleges, the appeal of such institutions in the eyes of the younger generation does not seem to be increasing. In the current academic year, 37% of school graduates decided to continue their education in colleges after the ninth grade, while 30% chose to do so after the eleventh grade. Compared to the 2016-2017 academic year (earlier statistical observations are not publicly available), these figures have decreased by 3 percentage points and 15 percentage points, respectively," specialists noted.
It is explained that the calculations contain a margin of error. On one hand, the total number of students admitted to colleges after the 9th and 11th grades includes graduates from previous years. On the other hand, graduates from the 9th and 11th grades refer to those who were enrolled in the respective grades at the beginning of the previous academic year. The approximate nature of the calculations is related to the peculiarities of the format in which statistical data is provided.
The attractiveness of universities among young people is increasing. Since the 2016-2017 academic year, the share of graduates from the 11th grade who were admitted to higher education institutions has risen by 3 percentage points, reaching 73%.
"And this is despite the much lower chances of becoming a student in a budget-funded program. However, to be fair, it should be noted that these chances are also increasing," the publication states.